The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's heart and vascular team develops personalized care plans for nearly 1,500 open heart and vascular surgery patients every year. These providers collaborate on a daily basis to create specific treatment plans spanning pre-, intra-, and post-operative care to meet each patient’s needs. Post-surgery, patients are moved to the Heart & Vascular Intensive Care Unit where they are followed by a highly skilled, multidisciplinary team lead by cardiovascular surgery anesthesia intensivists. The collaborative partnership and individualized care plans continue as patients are transitioned to the Progressive Care Unit. This team approach provides around-the-clock comprehensive care which allows for improved outcomes for heart and vascular surgery patients.

In 2010, the Heart & Vascular ICU expanded from 18 to 32 beds, allowing for more opportunities to provide evidence-based nursing and medical care with leading-edge technologies. The Heart & Vascular ICU is operated by the Cardiac Anesthesia and Cardiac Critical Care departments under the leadership of Joseph Savino, MD and Jiri Horak, MD.